Tabcorp chairman pushes for ‘fairer’ wagering rules

Tabcorp chairwoman Paula Dwyer warned that a successful domestic racing industry could not be taken for granted, given its contribution to the economy and “cultural fabric” of the country.
Photo: Nic Walker

Tabcorp
chairman
Paula Dwyer
has called on the Coalition government to overhaul wagering regulation in Australia, saying the state-based approach threatens the future of racing and leads to inconsistent tax regimes.

Ms Dwyer warned that a successful domestic racing industry could not be taken for granted, despite its significant contribution to the economy and “cultural fabric" of the country.

As Tabcorp prepares for next week’s Melbourne Cup – a day it expects to take more than $180 million in bets – Ms Dwyer said the company wants to work with governments, regulators and racing to “ensure a fairer and harmonised" approach is put in place.

Speaking at the company’s annual meeting in Melbourne on Thursday, Ms Dwyer said the $292 million that Tabcorp paid in state taxes in NSW and Victoria in the 2012 financial year, on turnover of $10.8 billion, was 77 times greater than the proportion of tax paid by Northern Territory bookmakers – just over $2 million from $5.7 billion of turnover. “Given one of the primary aims of licensing gambling products is to return a fair share of the proceeds to the community, the Northern Territory is grossly undertaxing its corporate bookmakers," she said.

Tabcorp is the exclusive operator of retail wagering outlets in Victoria and NSW. It also operates Luxbet, an online-only bookmaker registered in the NT. Tabcorp’s update for the first three months of 2013-14 showed Luxbet had the fastest revenue growth of the company’s wagering channels.

Ms Dwyer told The Australian Financial Review that even if a regulatory overhaul led to higher taxes for NT bookmakers, Tabcorp would keep Luxbet. “Luxbet fills a niche in the market and services a particular customer grouping," she said. Despite taking advantage of the lower taxes paid in the NT, Ms Dwyer said Tabcorp felt the effects of the licensing differences in its core TAB business. “We’re calling them out as the market leader," she said.

But Tabcorp boss
David Attenborough
said the tax paid was not just from the retail business, but covered online and phone too. “These corporate bookmakers are actually competing and taking tax out of [the states] and away from investing in the community," he said. “Fundamentally it’s a flawed model."

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Ms Dwyer also said the offering of odds by the corporate bookmakers based on the best totalisator dividends distributed by operators like Tabcorp, and its rival Tatts Group, which takes into account funding commitments to racing bodies, was unsustainable. “The low level of racing product fees and taxes paid by the Northern Territory-licensed corporate bookmakers, combined with the fact that they don’t have obligations to share revenue derived on tote-odds betting products with the industry, enables them to offer enhanced tote dividends to punters," she said. “Over the medium to long term this regulatory difference will undermine racing industry funding."

But speaking after the
Tatts Group
AGM, chief executive
Robbie Cooke
declined to support his rival’s calls for national regulation. “It’s something which has been talked about for quite a number of years," he said. “It’s a matter for every state to consider what’s appropriate for that state and its [racing] industry . . . I don’t believe its having any material impact on our business."